The Future of Consumerist

Over the last twelve years, Consumerist has been a steadfast proponent and voice on behalf of consumers, from exposing shady practices by secretive cable companies to pushing for action against dodgy payday lenders. Now, we’re joining forces with Consumer Reports, our parent organization, to cultivate the next generation of consumer advocacy.

Stay tuned as Consumerist’s current and future content finds its home as a part of the Consumer Reports brand. In the meantime, you can access existing Consumerist content below, and we encourage you to visit Consumer Reports to read the latest consumer news.

San Francisco, the city that likes to ban everything that makes this country great, like plastic bags and Happy Meals, is just one more round of voting to do away with another American staple. No longer will its citizens be able to depend on their annual free doorstop upgrade in the form of a Yellow Pages phone book plopped in front of their abode. If the bill, read it here (PDF) passes, the company will have to confirm that the residents actually want one first. That should only cut down their market share in the city by roughly… most people.

If the bill passes expect Yellow Pages to pull out of San Fran. What business is going to want to pay to have their listing in it if they can’t guarantee any recipients?

The town says banning the books will actually help the economy by reducing advertising rates and cutting down on damage done to the recycling equipment. They also say that the 1.6 million yellow pages each year generate 7 million pounds of paper waste, and, if stacked up, would be equal to 8.5 Mt. Everests.

If they ban the books, how is Timmy going to put them on top of each other so he can drive Dad’s truck to rescue Lucky the Dog? Important questions remain unanswered, but a spokesman for a Yellow Pages lobbying group said they would probably sue if the bill was passed.